The Keys to Search-Engine Success

Actually, there are two major ways to "optimize" your site so it s most likely to show up in a potential customer s search.

First, carefully identify the words and phrases your best prospects are most likely to use in searching for whatever you provide. "Each page should contain two or three keywords that you want people to use in finding you," Sherman says. (But don t list those words dozens or hundreds of times in attempt to show up first in search results; that s called "keyword stuffing" and it s considered cheating.) Choose keywords that are simple, coherent, and consistent with your other marketing campaigns, and be sure to list them in metatags as well.

In addition, get specific. Phrases like "home mortgage" and "low rates" won t set you apart from the pack. But adding your city and state, for instance, might help land your site higher in the results for searchers using those terms. In addition, keywords--not just your company name--should appear in the title bar atop your site s pages, Kent recommends. "Sanders & Son Ltd" doesn t indicate what the company does; "Sanders & Sons Graphic Design and Printing Services" tells users at a glance whether they ve found the right site.

Secondly, keep in mind that search engines love links. The more sites linked to yours, the higher it s likely to rank in search results. "Links are essentially the same thing as votes," Sherman says. From a search engine s point of view, he says, " the more votes you have, the greater the indication that there s high-quality content at your site." So keep building your network of relevant links.

Finally, remember that while getting your category s number-one search-engine ranking is dandy--but you certainly haven t failed if a clear, well-targeted message appears a few notches down the page. "Keep your eyes on the result," Kent advises. "The goal is to increase qualified traffic to your Web site, and you can do that without having the very top position."

Sidebar: Glossary

Keyword: Words and phrases included in a Web page matching those users are likely to employ in searching.

Keyword stuffing: Discouraged practice of overloading Web pages with keywords in an effort to obtain higher placement in search results. Also known as "spamdexing."

Local search: Evolving capability to limit search results to particular geographical areas.

Metasearch: Search using multiple search engines and directories.

Metatag: HTML tag that stores information about a Web page, including keywords for search-engine and directory use.

Optimization: See "SEO."

PFI (pay for inclusion): Advertising option in which marketers pay to be included in search results.

PFP (pay for placement): Advertising option in which marketers bid to place short text ads in or near search results, with highest bids appearing first.

Query: Synonym for "search."

Search engine: Program such as Google that searches its indices or databases in response to a user s query, retrieving lists of documents containing specific keywords. See also "Web directory."

Spiders: Software robots that automatically scour the Internet, reporting Web page contents back to a search engine s index or database. Also called "crawlers."

SEM: Search-engine marketing; using search techniques to build brand awareness or generate business.

SEO: Search-engine optimization, or retooling a site so that it s more likely to appear high in search results.

Web directory: Searchable indices such as Yahoo that are compiled by human editors rather than by automation. See also "Search engine."